weeblewobble:
So I was at the gym yesterday and an older lady got on the treadmill close to mine, She started the treadmill with the "quick start" function, which is supposed to let you gently increase the speed until you find the setting your comfortable with. The treadmill went from 0 to 7.2 miles per hour in a matter of seconds. It was like a runaway horse. Fortunately, the woman had a grip on the hand rails and was able to hold herself up when her feet slipped out from under her. She planted her feet on the side rails and pulled the emergency stop cord. Two bodybuilder types rushed over to make sure she was OK. (I love my gym. The people are really nice.) I ran to get a staff member.

The staffer asked if the lady needed medical attention (she refused) apologized for the equipment failure and put an out of order sign on the treadmill. I pointed out that particular treadmill was one of the "Invisible Runner's" favorite machines to leave on and walk away from. The staffer said it was possible that the extra wear and tear on the machine made it malfunction, but it would be hard to say for sure. He also said that "The Invisible Runner" stopped coming to the gym after I reported him and eventually cancelled his membership.

Yvaine:

--- Quote from: weeblewobble on April 13, 2013, 10:05:03 AM ---So I was at the gym yesterday and an older lady got on the treadmill close to mine, She started the treadmill with the "quick start" function, which is supposed to let you gently increase the speed until you find the setting your comfortable with. The treadmill went from 0 to 7.2 miles per hour in a matter of seconds. It was like a runaway horse. Fortunately, the woman had a grip on the hand rails and was able to hold herself up when her feet slipped out from under her. She planted her feet on the side rails and pulled the emergency stop cord. Two bodybuilder types rushed over to make sure she was OK. (I love my gym. The people are really nice.) I ran to get a staff member.

The staffer asked if the lady needed medical attention (she refused) apologized for the equipment failure and put an out of order sign on the treadmill. I pointed out that particular treadmill was one of the "Invisible Runner's" favorite machines to leave on and walk away from. The staffer said it was possible that the extra wear and tear on the machine made it malfunction, but it would be hard to say for sure. He also said that "The Invisible Runner" stopped coming to the gym after I reported him and eventually cancelled his membership.

--- End quote ---

My first thought on reading this was, maybe it was malfunctioning already when Invisible Runner was using it, and it wouldn't turn off if he tried, or was harder to turn off than it was supposed to be.

weeblewobble:

--- Quote from: Yvaine on April 13, 2013, 10:13:34 AM ------ Quote from: weeblewobble on April 13, 2013, 10:05:03 AM ---So I was at the gym yesterday and an older lady got on the treadmill close to mine, She started the treadmill with the "quick start" function, which is supposed to let you gently increase the speed until you find the setting your comfortable with. The treadmill went from 0 to 7.2 miles per hour in a matter of seconds. It was like a runaway horse. Fortunately, the woman had a grip on the hand rails and was able to hold herself up when her feet slipped out from under her. She planted her feet on the side rails and pulled the emergency stop cord. Two bodybuilder types rushed over to make sure she was OK. (I love my gym. The people are really nice.) I ran to get a staff member.

The staffer asked if the lady needed medical attention (she refused) apologized for the equipment failure and put an out of order sign on the treadmill. I pointed out that particular treadmill was one of the "Invisible Runner's" favorite machines to leave on and walk away from. The staffer said it was possible that the extra wear and tear on the machine made it malfunction, but it would be hard to say for sure. He also said that "The Invisible Runner" stopped coming to the gym after I reported him and eventually cancelled his membership.

--- End quote ---

My first thought on reading this was, maybe it was malfunctioning already when Invisible Runner was using it, and it wouldn't turn off if he tried, or was harder to turn off than it was supposed to be.

--- End quote ---

I would think that was possible, if he hadn't done this on several different machines. The chances of all of those machines malfunctioning is pretty slim.

Harriet Jones:
If the Invisible Runner was having a problem turning a treadmill off, he should have said something to the staff, not just walked off.

Yvaine:

--- Quote from: Harriet Jones on April 13, 2013, 10:53:58 AM ---If the Invisible Runner was having a problem turning a treadmill off, he should have said something to the staff, not just walked off.

--- End quote ---

Well, obviously. :) I just thought it was possible that the Invisible Runner's issues and the older lady's issues stemmed from a common cause, rather than the Invisible Runner having broken the treadmill himself, but never mind.